Childhood Memoirs
by 90MLLu
Summary: The 3rd one-shot - Kiba: A Promise I Tend to Keep Forever!. Akamaru has gone missing and Kiba can't find him. Nervousness is starting to get the young man and remorse is eating him up from the inside. Will he find Akamaru in time before anything happens?
1. Gaara: You are my only friend!

**Childhood Memoirs**

Is a collection of one-shots focusing on Naruto's and the other main charcaters's childhood. Some characters might cross each other's stories which also means that there are going to be (a) connection(s) between them. During their infancy, many diverse moment such as hilarious, gloomy, scary moments will be seen in my one-shots and that is also why the genre will vary from each single one-shots depending on which character I'm writing about.

I got the inspiration to write _Childhood Memoirs_ after I watched an episode of Naruto (Ep. 76). It was about Gaara when he was a child. I actually considered to write a FanFic only about him but then I thought, _Why not write about the other characters' childhood too?_

Hopefully there is going to be a little something for everybody. Enjoy this one-shot! (^v^)

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**Gaara: You are my only friend!**  
_Genre: Drama/Angst  
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The sizzling wind blew the little boy's red hair vigorously. However, he was not bothered by it, he did not notice the gusts of wind at all. The little boy was busy; busy following the many children of Sunagakure playing at the playground with his mesmerizing, light green eyes. The children played football not very far from the old irregular swing where he was sitting. Clinging to his teddy bear tightly, the sad toddler did not intend to join the others for a simple reason. He was afraid; afraid to be rejected - again. The only thing he could do was to sit unaccompanied on the swing and let the children live their lives. A life he did not have. A life he could only achieve by watching them live it to the fullest. The boy's name was... Gaara.

All day long Gaara had just sat there watching them play, feeling like trash that no one wanted to come near. He did not know why he couldn't play with the other children. Deep down Gaara could not stand their silent treatment. That is why he kept a facade to show the others that it was not bugging him. However, it did in fact consume him very strongly. Gaara could not talk to his father because he wouldn't understand it. _No, he wouldn't!_

The sun began to set, causing dark warm colours on the sky. The children had already left the place hours ago but Gaara - Gaara did not move an inch. He looked down on the dusty ground unenthusiastically with sweat dripping from his forehead.

Gaara tried so hard to be accepted among the other children and the adults by doing kind things to them but they always turned out wrong. Deep down, he was a sweet boy who just wanted to be friends with everybody in the village. He really wanted people to notice and acknowledge him as a good and likeable person. He just wanted people to notice him. However, fate was not on his side. People _did_ become aware of his presence except - it was not in a positive way. Gaara's wish backfired. Instead of being liked, he was hated and feared by almost everybody from the Village Hidden in the Sand. They had all seen what Gaara was capable of doing.

Everybody in Sunagakure feared him. It was not because he was the son of the Fourth Kazekage nor that he had the most frightening eyes in the village. No, the children and the adults were scared of the thing - the thing that was causing him to stay up all night. The citizens were afraid to get harmed or killed by him.

This rabid, uncontrollable monster, which was sealed inside of him before he was born, was the source of inevitable fear in the hearts of all who knew of it. And Gaara hated it - hated it with everything he had, this beast that would take over him when he got emotional. Everybody that was near him in that stage would get attacked causing them to run in terror and screaming for mercy. Nothing could be done against Gaara. Not even the men from ANBU could manage him. Gaara was simply too strong.

_"Sand demon", "Wandering devil", "cold-blooded murderer", "matricide", "THE CURSE OF SUNAGAKURE..."_

He turned his head to the side with a hurt look in his heavy eyes. The horrible names kept running through his head, causing him to try and rip his hair out; trembling as he began to fear himself.

_'What is wrong with me?__Why am I not normal, just like the other kids in this village?'_ Gaara began feeling empty inside with every second of pondering that question. Small drops of tears fell on the sandy ground of the now quiet playground.

Gaara dropped his beloved teddy bear unconsciously; its face stared back at him, smiling. Landing on the ground, the blood-red/dark brown coloured sand made the bear all dirty. Both the sand and the smile on the teddy bear's face stunned Gaara completely. Something about that sight simply made him want to cry even more. Everything in the past which he had done and did not wish to remember all started coming back again. His eyes were filled with salty tears and he could not hold them back anymore. Crying was not an option when he had a life due to his father. Now that he had already begun crying, he might as well let it all out. Gaara was all alone in this pitiless world. His older sister and brother seemed to keep a distance between him and them. What's worse, his own dad, the one who had made him the monster everybody thought he was, seemed not to care about him. Loneliness was all Gaara felt in this world. Nobody saw him as a child who needed loving care. No one seemed to think about his feelings. Not a single soul thought he was innocent. They only saw what there was on the surface when it came to life: A cold, blood thirsty demon!

_Why? Why won't people care about me? Why won't my own family care about me?... WHY?!_

He started to breathe faster and then even faster still, shivering uncontrollably with an emotion he couldn't describe. The faster he breathed, the sharper the inner pains he had inside his heart, until the point where Gaara felt as if it was going to explode.  
Gripping the hot sweaty chains and still looking at his best friend while he was crying, he started to question his family because they never showed him any affection.

_"Mommy, I love you so much. You know that right?"...  
"Of course I know that. I love you too, sweetie"…_

The sight of a little girl saying those words to her mother was constantly on his mind. It saddened his heart with a renewed melancholy that stirred within him.

_How must this emotion feel like? To love someone? To be loved? ... What is Love?_ Gaara wanted to have that feeling towards another person. But how can he get a hold of it when he couldn't even define what Love meant? Was he even loved by his own family? These thoughts led to other miserable thoughts about his departed mother whom he barely even knew.

_What is love all about, Mother? WHAT IS LOVE?!_

Emptiness commenced to swirl through his entire body whilst the inner pain grew. Screaming out loud, it echoed in the entire village. Overwhelmed by his doubts, Gaara fell down from the swing landing on his knees, causing a small cloud of sand dust to rise into the air. Grabbing his head with his left hand and his left chest side with his right roughly, his eyes and teeth were strongly clenched together. He held his head down to the dirty ground to support it, before pathetic shrieks of terror poured out from the young boy's mouth once more. Gaara could no longer control it. A headache was all he could feel. It felt like having a bell inside of his skull ringing constantly, then increasing in frequency, pitch and resonance. It wouldn't stop, it _never_ stopped. Nothing he did could ease it. It simply grew louder, deeper, angrier…

Flashbacks of terrifying memories, of people slandering him kept spinning around in his mind.

"Stop it, stop it, _STOP IT!_"

There were no other alternatives. It was the only solution he could come up with to stop the physical and mental pain, which he had had to deal with for years, once and for all. Out of frustration, Gaara decided to do anything to stop the pain.

The monster within him had nearly taken control over him. As a last attempt to stop the madness inside his head and in his life, Gaara raised his hurting head to find something that could end it all. By a stroke of luck he saw a big, sharp broken glass hiding right in front of him in the sand. It was like fate wanted him to do it. Still on his knees he picked it up quickly. It was shaped as a dagger but unlike an actual blade, this felt very light, Gaara had no problem lifting it. He could sense its sharp edges on his small little fingers.

This is it. This is the moment he had been waiting for. With no hesitation Gaara stabbed it directly into his heart while he cried out.

Nothing happened. His body stood still. Gaara did not feel any stabbing pain in his heart. He did not see blood. A thin barrier of fine sand had stopped him from hurting himself. Suddenly, the pain was gone. Removing the broken glass slowly, Gaara saw its peak broken. His eyes were wide open and he took slow, heavy breaths. Exhausted and bewildered, the thoughts had gone too. Feeling the grains of sand on the ground pricking his knees lightly, he had lost the orientation of where he was and what had happened. Gaara looked around and did not recognize the place. It was not until he turned his head and saw his teddy bear lying on the ground near the swing that he realized the situation. He froze for a second, while staring at his toy with an empty expression on his innocent face.

_Why am I still here?_

Feeling useless, he went back and picked up the bear. Ever since he could remember, the bear had always been soft to touch. Whenever Gaara touched the bear, he felt the familiar warm feeling - a sensation he would always get when he hugged it. Little thumbs brushed over some bare spots on its big tummy. Even though the teddy bear looked old, Gaara did not want to have a new shiny one because this was his dearest possession. Gaara had owned him from the time since he was a baby. His siblings told him that it was a gift from their mother. He stroked the rough spots and pressed it against his body tightly, leaving splotches of tears on the bear's head.

Looking around to see if anyone had witnessed his outburst before, he found nothing but an awful silence. Once again, Gaara was all alone.

The sun had almost set by now. Deciding to go back home, he slowly moved his steps into a gradual stroll, and while he walked home down the empty narrow streets, he whispered to his dear soft toy, the one and only being in his life that would smile at him no matter what happened.

"You are my only friend!"

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**_Author's Note

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Hallo (^v^)

This is my first Naruto-story so I hope it lives up to your expectations. If there is anything lacking in this story please let me know. Constructive criticism is appreciated.  
I would personally like to thank Gwenhyfer and Weixuan18 for Beta Reading my story. You are the best and thanks for your help!  
Another person I would like to thank is Moonshae for helping me out with the ideas too. She is so sweet and she is a magnificent author and mangaka too. Please check out her Naruto-stories, Wandering Souls and Futile Spring Proposals. They are so hilarious and amazing!

This very first one-shot is a tribute to Gaara who inspired me to write a collection of childhood memories! HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

Yours Sincerely 90MLLu


	2. Shikamaru: Women are troublesome!

**Childhood Memoirs**

Is a collection of one-shots focusing on Naruto's and the other main charcaters's childhood. Some characters might cross each other's stories which also means that there are going to be (a) connection(s) between them. During their infancy, many diverse moment such as hilarious, gloomy, scary moments will be seen in my one-shots and that is also why the genre will vary from each single one-shots depending on which character I'm writing about

Hopefully there is going to be a little something for everybody. Enjoy this one-shot! (^v^)

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**Shikamaru: Women are Troublesome!**  
_Genre: Humour/Family_

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_"Knock, knock."_

Knocks came outside of Shikamaru's bedroom door. With no response to the first three, many more followed with insistence, causing Shikamaru to move exasperatingly in his bed. The noise was like a bomb going off in his head again and again. He turned his face to the side of the bed to cover his ear and when that didn't work, he put his pillow above his other ear. To make his "hide-out" even more soundproof, he threw his white velvety duvet over his entire body. Lying there like a dead fish, Shikamaru began drooling without noticing it. He simply couldn't be bothered to answer the voice outside his bedroom door, because all he wanted was to sleep.

_It's Saturday morning? … Or is it Sunday?_

_Either way it's a weekend!_

Some children liked to play at the playground in Konohagakure, some liked to pay a visit to their friends and family and others enjoy being occupied with their hobbies on a weekend. Shikamaru – He likes to laze his time by sleeping in his bed. Sometimes, he did not understand why people were so active, especially on a weekend. Weekends were supposed to be days with no homework, no duties to fulfill, one where you could stay home, eat some sweets and then go back to sleep. That's the idea of it!

"Please go away. I'm busy…" He said with an extremely tired voice, this time feeling something wet running down his jaw as he spoke. Shikamaru wiped the slobber off with the back of his hand and fell right back to sleep. However, he got disturbed once again.

"Hey, Shikamaru?" Shikamaru's father, Shikaku, asked his son outside the door.

"Yes…dad? Do you have something on your mind?" A mumbled voice came under the wetted duvet, "If not, please stop talking. I want to lay here in my bed all day." He said and took a deep breath at the end of the sentence.

"If you don't wake up right now, you know that there will be a hell to pay," Shikamaru's dad said calmly. He was trying to scare Shikamaru, "and you and I both know that I can't do anything when your mother starts scolding."

That's true. Not even the man who was supposed to be the leader in the house could stop his mother's temper when it broke loose. Sometimes Shikamaru wondered why his father ever married her if she was such a horror. Yoshino, liked to dominate a lot and you could tell it by how the house was decorated. Everything was arranged according to her tastes because she liked the house to look a certain way and apparently, her opinion was the only thing that mattered. If you disobeyed her, you might not get away that easily – Alive! That woman sure was strict.

"You can still make it before she comes home."

"Alright… I'll get up now. Just give me a sec," Shikamaru said irritated, and Shikaku went downstairs to set up the dining table. Against his will, Shikamaru got out from his bed and dragged himself along to the bathroom with half sleepy eyes.

(- - -)

As he was downstairs all cleaned up with his pineapple stalk hair, Shikamaru stood some feet away before the front door and began stretching and yawning very loudly. Simultaneously the front door had just opened and outside stood the person Shikamaru was a bit scared of sometimes.

That person had just returned home.

That person was his mother.

Yoshino carried big grocery bags making it impossible for her to see where she was going. However, she did not need any help from anyone and decided to walk all the way to the kitchen by herself. In that moment she took a step inside the house she pitched into Shikamaru who hadn't noticed his mother being back. Yoshino dropped all the bags onto the floor which made a gigantic mess around the entrée. Rubbing his forehead over and over again, Shikamaru opened his eyes widely, only to encounter a face slowly turning red. Her eyes flashed with anger, and frankly, if only eyes could kill, he would pretty much be dead in a heartbeat. Not knowing what to say because of the confusion reeling in his head, he just stared at his mother. He did not understand why she was so upset.

"Honey, you're home. What have you bought?" Shikaku stepped out from the kitchen wearing a pink apron.  
"Why don't you take a look then? It's all lined up neatly." She said sarcastically. "How many times do I have to tell you, Shikamaru? No running in the house!" Yoshino rose her voice.  
"I did no…"  
"Honey, don't get angry. Come and enjoy breakfast. I'll deal with Shikamaru later, okay?" Shikamaru got interrupted by his father. His tone sounded very stoically, "Shikamaru. Clean this up, will you?"  
"But..."  
"Now."

_I knew I should have stayed in bed! I knew it! The day has already started out terribly! What's next?_

(- - -)_  
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"Boiled egg…," His voice sounded surprised.

"Yes, you are going to eat it no matter what! You want to be smart, don't you? Then eat it! You are not leaving the table before you have eaten the egg!" Yoshino said commandingly to Shikamaru, who had an annoyed look on his face as he sat at the breakfast table. Boiled egg was the worst thing he could think of in the world. He simply despised it. Just the thought of feeling the consistency, the egg yolk running in his palate and swallowing it made his stomach upset. Scratch that, he _abhorred_ it.

However, if he didn't eat it he would make another person upset. A very scary person indeed.

Shikamaru turned his head to his mother to beg for mercy. Nevertheless, Yoshino was cold as ice. Leaning back on her chair with her arms crossed she glared right back at him, waiting impatiently for him to eat the whole egg. A vein near Yoshino's left temple began to slowly reveal itself. Immediately, Shikamaru turned his head away from the terrifying twitch and stared at the boiled egg.

_Any other healthy food would do the trick like mackerel or kelp? For God's sake, why boiled egg?_

As a last resort to get help, he looked at his father who was sitting across the table next to Yoshino. But to Shikamaru's disappointment, Shikaku was not aware of the current situation which had been going on. At least it seemed that way. He just took sips of his green tea while enjoying it. Shikamaru then tried to catch his attention by kicking him under the table as hard as he could. Regrettably, Shikamaru kicked his mother at the shinbone instead. This time the look on Yoshino's face was even more horrifying than the expression she had at the entrée. Her eyes weren't just going to kill, this time it was out to destroy.

_Either I eat the stupid egg and be the good boy mom always "demands" me to be or I could stand up to her…_

"Well, I'm still waiting, Shikamaru. I'm not getting any younger by the minute, you know!" She said impatiently.

"I can see that," Shikamaru murmured. His father drank his tea calmly, still acting like nothing had occurred. Shikamaru thought for a second, before he answered. Actually, he should think it all through before he answered. Sighing Shikamaru said, "You win, mom. I'll eat it."

_It takes too much of my energy to argue with her anyway. Could use it on better things like sleeping._

"That's my boy!" She smirked in triumph, and in an affectionate move, pinched him on his check. She then left the table and took the dirty plates with her to the kitchen while Shikamaru poked the white jelly looking food with his teaspoon annoyingly.

"When you are done with your egg, go upstairs and clean up your room!" Yoshino's voice echoed from the kitchen.

"Yeah yeah… what?"

(- - -)

"How troublesome!" Shikamaru took a quick scan of his room when he came back from breakfast. It was like a shinobi war had happened and all that had survived from the outcome was a big mess on the floor.

Shikamaru felt uneasy. Cleaning was not something he liked to do, simply because it took a lot of his time and energy. Groaning heavily, he began cleaning immediately. However, after a few minutes of picking up his own stinky laundry, Shikamaru got tired and decided to stroll to the only thing that was actually clean in his room - his bed. With no hesitation he threw himself on it. Laying his hands under the back of his head, he stared at the ceiling for a long time**.**

He needed a break from the cleaning.

He needed a break from the house.

He needed a break from all this in general, and by all this Shikamaru meant bossy women like his mother.

If only he could get an hour or two without his mother bossing him around, he would be in paradise. But the question remains: how? Sneaking out the front door won't do any good, because Yoshino would instantly hear the door being opened and know that it was him. Shikaku had already left Konoha for a mission and would not be back for a day or two, maybe even a week if Shikamaru was really unfortunate. That meant he was home alone with his mother. He started to think of other opportunities.  
"I could…," a sudden smash on the floor made Shikamaru jump up from his bed. It would seem that a crow had flown into his room and knocked down his vase. Shikamaru followed its movement out to the gutter and suddenly it hit him like a flash.

_I could escape through the window and climb down from the gutter. On the way home I can use the front door saying that I had to open it to send Naruto away or whatever. Hehe… I'll be back before she even knows it._

Without hesitation he climbed out of the window. Finally he was getting some time off from his frightening mother. He slowly slid down the gutter as quietly as possible but out of the blue he felt something heavy land on his head. Since it gave a cry, Shikamaru knew immediately that it was the same crow from before. It had thought that Shikamaru's black hair was a nest.

"Pssh, go away… Shush … Fly away you troublesome bird," the more Shikamaru struggled to get rid of it the more the crow fastened its grip on his scalp, "Ah, you stupid crow," he whispered, aggravated while pushing it aside so it would let go of his head. However, it made the situation only worse. The crow then got angry and started to peck his scalp continually. Out of irritation, he swung his arm with all his might at it but unfortunately, he missed, causing him to lose his balance.  
Hence, he found himself unable to regain his balance, meaning he fell right down to the ground and hurt his behind. At that moment, Shikamaru heard a scream inside his bedroom and the voice could only belong to one person.

"SHIKAMARU!"

The sound of his mother screaming, made the crow let go of Shikamaru's scalp and fled instantly up to the sky. Shortly, Shikamaru did the same feverishly. It was too late for him to go back…

(- - -)

As he was some distance away from his house, he began thinking how troublesome not only his mother, but in general women actually were. Almost every woman, whom he had met up until now, wanted to have things their way. Furthermore, they were good at manipulation, got offended way too easily, were extremely scary when they got angry, always tended to use violence and last but not least, they liked to dominate over men whenever they got the chance to do so. Shikamaru shivered just at the thought of those women and after a few seconds, his mind drifted back to his mother again.

"Why does she always have to be all over the place? Does she really need to block my way every single time? I just want to do what I want to, which is sleeping, but I honestly feel trapped and cannot breathe because she is sucking all the air around me." Shikamaru exhaled noisily while looking down as he walked, not noticing the surroundings. A few steps away from him, the fat wife of the feudal lord heard what he said out loud. Jumping to the conclusion, for some unfathomable reason, she thought Shikamaru was mentioning her not-so-small size.

"Are you calling me FAT? You have some nerves calling me the f-word. Don't you know who I am?" she said angrily.

"Wha..? You have completely misunderstood me. I... I was not talking abo…" Shikamaru began to perspire at an incredible pace. _Oh_, _what have I gotten myself into?_

"I'll teach you a lesson or two on manners! Tora, after him!" The wife of the feudal lord cooed to her chubby brown cat with a Bordeaux-red bow on his ear, now pushing him to go after Shikamaru. However, it ran off in the other direction, relieved to get away.

"Tora… Tora…" the fat lady called after her cat crying, but that did not last for long. Her face changed drastically when she stared back at Shikamaru, "Look what you made my cat do! You've scared it to death. You are going to pay!" Suddenly the lord's wife commenced chasing after Shikamaru, which kick started the adrenalin inside of his body, causing him to run as fast as he could with a terrified expression.

Everybody on the streets was confused by the sight of them running, given that they ran past them many times.

"Get back here you little punk! Are you are a man or not?" The feudal lord's wife screamed.

"That's the problem Ma'am. I am only a boy if you haven't noticed that. I'm allowed to be a coward," Shikamaru said, thoroughly winded.

_For a fat lady, she can really run fast!_

They reached the park and bit by bit, after a couple of minutes of more running, the fat lady finally fell behind and to a certain extent, so did Shikamaru, but nonetheless, he had to continue. He _would_ get his freedom no matter what, at least for a couple of hours, and then he would be happy to receive his punishment. Focusing on that thought deeply, Shikamaru did not notice a little short-haired blonde girl crossing his way in the park. Naturally, this resulted in him colliding fiercely into her.

"BAKA, Shikamaru! Don't you ever look at where you are going? My favorite blue shirt is all dirty thanks to you. AHHH!" Ino said furiously and got up quickly to show Shikamaru her fist indicating that she was ready to beat him up.

"Wait… wait, Ino? I'm sorry but you are not the only one here who is dirty. Would you look at me? I got bruises too?" Shikamaru said, still lying on the lawn all covered in dirt and mud.

"Are you saying that it's my fault now? Why you…"

"There you are, you little lout! DON'T… LET… HIM… GET… A…WAY!" the fat lady had finally caught up with him again, with her face turning into blue.

"No not this again. I just want a break." Shikamaru ran as fast as he could now, away from the place.

"Where do you think you are going? Get back here! I'm not done talking to you, BAKA!"

"DO AS YOUR FRIEND SAYS!"

Now Shikamaru had two females, or rather, two angry females after him. He ran through the newly blossomed park and out onto the busy streets again.

Turning his head back to see how far the ladies were, he began regretting it because not only were they close behind him, he encountered a frightening face coming from Ino. Shikamaru then realized that running was not the solution anymore. His strategy might have worked before but now that he had Ino chasing after him too, he had to change tactic. He had to get rid of them in a different way. The only solution he could come up with in such a stressful time was to hide – hide like a coward.

At the next crossroads, he saw a lot of people gathering around to see some circus performer perform. Shikamaru resolved to use that to his advantage. Pushing through the crowd, Shikamaru felt warm and smelly sweat dripping off the citizens' body onto his.

_Maybe I have not thought this plan through._

"Where is he?" a loud girl's voice said madly and tried to find a certain person. There was no doubt about it – the shrill voice belonged to Ino, "Just wait till I get you. Mark my words, Shikamaru Nara!" People turned their heads to see the strange furious girl walk away from the area wondering why she was so mad. They then looked at Shikamaru beneath them.

"Is she gone?" He asked and gasped for air. The adrenalin had slowly dropped, "That was close. Where did the lady go, I wonder? That's enough exercise for the rest of my life."

Exhausted and sweating like a pig, Shikamaru longed for his comfortable bed which, however, was out of reach at this moment. The sun kept shining brighter and brighter, making it difficult for him to come up with what to do next. If only he was under shades. Although after a while, he thought how stupid he was for not thinking about it earlier. Shikamaru had always considered it to be his other home in Konoha. The pavilion, which his father and his teammates had built on the top of a building, had always been a dear to him. It was not how the pavilion looked because it was nothing flattering. The little building consisted only of four posts, a flat roof and a bench, all made of old wood. No, it was what it symbolized of - manhood. If a woman had decided how it should be built, it would definitely not look like that. The pavilion was rough and ugly to look at but another reason why it meant a lot to Shikamaru was for the reason that his dad had built it with his friends. He, on the other hand, could never imagine himself doing such a thing because he was too lazy.

Immediately he ran up to his father's fine work and put himself on the hard but ground bench under the pavilion so he wouldn't get the shiny sun right in the eye. Feeling the cool fresh air touching his skin, Shikamaru felt free and unconcerned. He laid his arms under his head and fell right asleep.

(- - -)

After several hours, the sun was about to set, Shikamaru woke up slowly and stared at the beautiful orange colored sky. It gave him inner peace just by looking at the clouds flowing by. Thinking about the incidents this morning broke the peace given that it led to Ino. He remembered the very first time he met her. It was at his place. Her father had paid Shikaku a visit and with him he had the blonde girl standing next to him. Shikamaru had just arrived downstairs when Ino suddenly said, _'Who's that weird guy? I don't want to marry him, dad. He's not my type. Please, don't make me. You know Sasuke Uchiha, right? I love him!'_  
In that moment he got the impression that this girl was going to be troublesome and he was right.

_Ino! If I'm ever going to have a girlfriend which I certainly doubt that I do, she would definitely not be like you, Ino, oryou, mom. Too troublesome. No, she has to be sweet and caring and also not too ugly but not too pretty either._

"How can dad put up with mom all the time?" He talked to himself still staring at the colorful sky.

"That is because she's not that bad." A man stepped out from the shadows near the staircases. It was Shikaku, "I see you have retreated here all day," he smiled.

"Dad? How did you find me? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on a mis…"

"Take it easy son. I can't answer you if you don't let me talk." Shikaku paused and sat next to his son, "I got back early because of your mother."

"Mom?" Shikamaru looked puzzled, "She's fine dad. Last time I saw… correction last time I… heard her… she was screaming my name."

"Do you know why she screamed?"

"Yeah, she was mad because I left my cleaning behind…"

"No Shikamaru. She thought you were kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" Shikamaru looked even more bewildered.

"Your mother heard some strange noise coming from your room, so she hurried up to check how you were doing but when she opened the door she found not a single soul. Since the vase was broken and the window was widely opened, she jumped quickly to conclusion that you were kidnapped." Shikaku explained it all with his hoarse voice, "So you see son. Your mother is not as horrible as you think she is. She really loves you."

"Then why is she always acting like she doesn't?" Shikamaru asked annoyed, "Why are women so mean all the time? It's hard to know what they are thinking."

"Yes, your mother has a funny way to show how she cares about you. But all those things she wants you to do are for your own good. When she yelled at you this morning for running in the house, she only did that because she didn't want you to get hurt. When she told you to eat your egg, she wanted you to become smart so you will get a bright future ahead of you. And when she told you to clean up your room, she was actually teaching you how to be independent and responsible. She may not show it directly but deep inside her heart, she has always treasured you, not hated you." Shikamaru looked down and was a bit ashamed.

"I understand. I should probably say sorry when I get back home. Thanks dad."

"Anytime, son. As for the question why women are mean… Well, that's a trick question that even I can't answer. Maybe because of their perio…" Shikaku stopped the sentence and looked at Shikamaru, "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" Shikamaru shook his head, "Well don't worry. You will eventually," Shikaku took a deep breath sounding relieved and then continued, "I have heard from the third Hokage that you have caused some serious trouble for the feudal lord's wife and little Ino today. Is that right? Tomorrow you are going to apologize to them too."

"But why dad? I did not do anything wro…"

"Listen son, just give the women what they want. It's a lot easier that way. Besides wouldn't you rather have a woman as a friend than as an enemy?"

"I guess you are right," Shikamaru said and sighed. This whole running away experience was not a waste of time after all. Shikamaru got to have this important talk with his dad and better yet, he

* * *

got an insight of how his mom truly felt about him and how women were, but even so, it did not change the way he felt about the opposite gender.

"Hey dad?"

"Yes son?"

"Women are troublesome!"

* * *

**Author's Note**

* * *

Hey there

Yes I know it has been a while since I last updated and I'm really, truely SORRY about that. But I have been busy with school ect. so please forgive me.

I would like to thank all the readers who have read and reviewed my first _Naruto_one-shot. I have never guessed that it would turn out this way. I feel so honoured because you all wanted to read and give me your honest opinion about it. Thank you so much for the encouragements!  
Also, I would personally like to thank my two Beta Readers,_Weixuan18_and _Gwenhyfer._They have helped me a lot with this and I'm sincerely glad for their help^^ Furthermore, I would like to thank my friend, _Moonshae_, for giving me the idea to write about Shikamru. She's just a wonderful person and writer. Check out her work too(^v^)

I really hope you like this one-shot of Shikamaru but if there is anything you don't like about it, please tell me. I can always use constructive criticism, so reviews are appreciated whether they are god or bad^^  
Again thanks to the many readers out there who have read my one-shot about Gaara!

Yours sincerely _90MLLu_


	3. Kiba: A Promise I Tend to Keep Forever!

**Childhood Memoirs**

Is a collection of one-shots focusing on Naruto's and the other main charcaters's childhood. Some characters might cross each other's stories which also means that there are going to be (a) connection(s) between them. During their infancy, many diverse moment such as hilarious, gloomy, scary moments will be seen in my one-shots and that is also why the genre will vary from each single one-shots depending on which character I'm writing about

Hopefully there is going to be a little something for everybody. Enjoy this one-shot! (^v^)

* * *

**Kiba:****A Promise I Tend to Keep Forever!  
**_Genre: Friendship/Drama_

_

* * *

_

Taking in deep breaths while running, Kiba looked very worried. The rain poured down tremendously outside the forest of Konohagakure. It seemed as if there was no end to the weather which made the surroundings grey and gloomy. Kiba was in a hurry and he did not have time to spare. From head to toe his clothes were laden of water causing him to freeze big time. Moreover, he was up against a strong headwind which made him run even slower. However, even though Kiba had these obstacles in front of him, he couldn't give up and return home. Someone he cared truly about was out in the forest – _Alone_. That someone was his dog.

"WHERE ARE YOU, AKAMARU?"

Running panicky, the only thing he thought of was how his dog must be feeling right now. Kiba's heartbeat grew faster and faster. How could an inexperienced dog possibly survive without Kiba's caring and guidance? Akamaru was after all only a puppy, a puppy he had gotten not so long ago and he would never forget their first encounter.

(~ ~ ~)

"_Don't look for it. Use your sense of smell. Honey, we are not known as Inuzuka_ _for nothing..."_Kiba had recalled his mother saying before he went to the field outside Konoha.

"Adults don't make any sense sometimes. How am I supposed to find my present with my nose? That's just plain stupid. Birthday presents aren't supposed to have a strong smell. I can't track it unless it's really stinky." He got a bit impatient, "For the third Hokage's sake, this is making me nuts. My birthday was two months ago. _Two months_. Just give me my present already."

After ten minutes or so, he gave up his search and decided to sulk on the ground instead. But all of a sudden Kiba's nose began wrinkling by itself. His nasal cavity had caught a pervaded smell that was approaching him from the field which did not come from a human. Sniffing the air once more, Kiba was surprised of the outcome. The scent was from - a dog.

_How weird... What is a dog doing here outside Konoha. They aren't supposed to live here._

Pondering for some time, it finally hit Kiba why a dog was there with him.

"I'm getting a dog, I'm getting a dog..." He said quickly with excitement in his voice. "At last I'm getting a big strong ninken like mom's Kuromaru! YAHOO!" At the same time as Kiba decided to run towards the scent, the tall grass where the scent was began rustling fiercely. Staring intensely at the movements, Kiba was close to bursting with joy.

"SWEET! He's _fast_ and _wild_, but that's no surprise since he's going to be my dog." He smirked. "This is going to be the best birthday present ever! Thank you mom and sis!"

The rustle stopped and quietly appeared a white dog on the path. Squeezing his eyes of happiness, Kiba couldn't believe that he was going to meet his friend and companion.

Ever since he was three years old, Kiba dreamt of having a dog of his own but his mom had always told him he was too young. Now he's old enough and the day had finally come. He could meet his dog for the very first time and that moment would be memorable, or so he thought. Nevertheless, it did not exactly happen like that.

When he opened his eyes again and saw the white dog closed up, Kiba pulled a long face. The ninken was not as big and strong as he hoped for. Actually, it was the opposite of that. It was little and weak. It was a puppy.

Kiba stared at the puppy and was completely speechless. The little fellow, on the other hand, wagged its tiny tail unruly and barked gently to greet him but Kiba did not move a muscle. After many seconds of silence and still looking bewildered, someone from behind interrupted him.

"His name is Akamaru." said a rough woman's voice.

"Mom? Sis?" Kiba said surprisingly and noticed that Tsume and Hana had their companions next to them.

"From now on, you will be the one looking after him." his mother said firmly. "Got it?"

"Me?" He looked puzzled and turned back to face Akamaru who had barked at him again. Kiba sighed and squatted so he was about Akamaru's height. They looked at each other but neither of them blinked or turned their faces away. It was like a staring contest.

_So he is my dog after all. Can't say I'm not disappointed but what can I do? Mom has already entrusted me with him. I better make the best out of it._

Reaching his right hand out, Akamaru approached it trying to get to know Kiba better. Liking the smell of his new friend, Akamaru decided to lick his hand too. It tickled Kiba and he started sniggering.

_Maybe he is not that bad. He's actually cool. We can definitely hit it off._

He then picked up the soft puppy under its front paws like a teddy bear to greet him properly.

"I'm Kiba. Nice to meet you, Akamaru." Akamaru cried gladly to respond back and all of a sudden without any warning, Akamaru began peeing on Kiba's face.

"Ah… You've done it now, you little brat!" Kiba made a wry face while wiping the pee off with his sleeve. Even though he got most of the urine off his face, the stench was still there and it stung almost like acid.

"It's no fun to be peed on, is it? Now you know how difficult you were when you were little." Tsume and Hana laughed really loud and so did the ninkens. Kiba, on the other hand, did not find the situation and their comment funny at all.

"Who would have guessed the dog would do that on their first encounter? Guess you guys have more in common other than your birthday" Hana added and continued laughing.

"So your birthday is also July 7th? Wait, is he only 2 months old?" Kiba asked and turned his head back to face his mother and sister.

"Wuff!" answered the little puppy and kept smiling at Kiba.

"You better treat him right then, Kiba," Tsume said firmly.

"I promise you, Akamaru, that I will take good care of you. I will protect you and keep you out of trouble, okay?" Kiba smiled and raised him high up in the air in front of the sun which made him glow, "Just promise me that you won't pee on me again."

(- - -)

Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours but there were still no signs of Akamaru. It was already dim and the rain continued to pour down. Kiba sniffed after Akamaru's scent again but unlike last time the scent of him had slightly vanished. If it wasn't for the heavy rain, he would already have found him and taken him home. That is, if Akamaru still considered the Inuzuka household as his home.

_Who wants to return to a person who yells at a little dog?_

Without noticing a curved root sticking up from the ground Kiba got his foot stuck under it and fell right into a puddle. Lying in it all wet and muddy, Kiba sensed the perishing water up against his face but he did not care. With an empty expression he got his sight at his right hand - The hand that told Akamaru to scram and never come back again. It trembled and just then Kiba clenched his fist with anger. He slammed the puddle a few times before he got up and slammed his own reflection with all his might. While doing so Kiba kept yelling at himself.

"IDIOT! WHY DID YOU GET ANGRY ALL OF SUDDEN?"

(~ ~ ~)

"No, not again. Akamaru." Kiba found out that the puppy of his was heading to the town and he was not keen about that.

_Please, don't make any more trouble for the booth owners. They have already suffered enough last time... and the time before that._

Short time after he had arrived to the town, Kiba got the sense of Akamaru's presence. Certain that his puppy was very close by he started running to look for him.

"There you are. As always, I have been looki... " the sight in front of him made him stop up in shock. "Oh my god, Akamaru. Stop that at once!"

Right before him, Kiba saw Akamaru jumping on a little girl's back. The dark blue hime-cut hairstyle with the fairly long strands framing each side of her face clarified who the person was. There was no mistake about it. The girl was Hinata Hyuga.

Still jumping eagerly on Hinata, Akamaru wanted her to play with him. However, while being jumped on and her head facing the ground Hinata had a hard time seeing anything around her.

"Akamaru? Didn't you hear what I said? I said, quit it."

"Ar-Kar-Mar-Lu? Sounds... familiar."

Kiba went directly to Hinata to assist her and right in that moment Akamaru got off her back looking joyful at them both.

"Are you alright Hinata? Hinata?"

"What? Kiba-kun? Why... Why are you here?" She seemed to have gotten her wits back and stammered a lot. "Eh... Are you okay? You do not look so good. Your skin is paler than it used to be." When she realised what she just had said to a boy, she hastened to give an explanation."No, please Kiba-kun, don't get the wrong idea. I do not care about you in that way. I care about you as a fri..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean." he teased her and poked her with his elbow. "I know you only care for the one and only. Naru..." Quickly Hinata raised her hand to stop Kiba from finishing the sentence. She looked around making sure that no one was near them.

"Please don't say it in public."

"That hurt," Kiba rubbed his mouth.

"Sorry..." Hinata sounded sincerely as always.

"Back then, are you okay?" Akamaru just kept smiling at them, like nothing major had occurred.

"Ehm, I'm a bit light-headed but other than that I'm fine."

"You're sure that you are okay?"

"Yes, thank you for your concern, Kiba-kun. I... No, my things!"

Hurriedly Kiba turned towards what was making Hinata upset**. **All his focus until now had been on Hinata and Akamaru meaning he had blocked the sight of the surroundings. Kiba noticed a white handkerchief with a logo from the Hyuga household covered in dust. Right beside it was a torn box made of paper and a green tea cake lying all ill-timed and smashed on the road. Just as Kiba stared on the cake, Akamaru had gone directly to the pastry and started eating it.

"NO! Bad dog! Leave it alone, Akamaru. It's not your cake!" Kiba's voice sounded shocked.

"It can't be. My homemade cake. It's for Naru..." Hinata devoured the last word and started blushing. She tried to get up but she couldn't. A cry of agony filled the air instead.

"Hey, Hinata? What's wrong? Don't lie to me this time." Kiba sounded worried.

"Nothing. I just feel a little pain on my ankle. Nothing biggy to worry about. Really." Her face distorted with anguish. Clearly she did not want Kiba to feel bad about Akamaru's actions. Kiba took a look at her ankle carefully and found it sprained.

Blood started boiling inside Kiba's veins. He had had enough of these situations. Kiba could no longer ignore Akamaru's behavior when he was outside, together with other people. Making excuses for him every time were not going to help because Akamaru would only continue bringing "horror" for everybody. The behaviour of his had to stop once and for all.

"Look, Akamaru! Look what you have done! Just look around, will you?" Kiba raised his voice which startled Hinata. Akamaru looked quickly around and stared back at Kiba happily with his narrow puppy eyes.

"This had gone too far now! Hinata is now badly injured because of _you_ and _your_ silly games. Say you are sorry to Hinata, right this instance!"

"Arh?" Akamaru looked puzzled.

"You heard me. Apologize to her. This is not a game anymore. This is serious, Akamaru. You need to learn how to tell seriousness and game apart." The tone of his voice became louder and louder for every second he spoke. However, it had no affect on Akamaru. The dog just stared at him in the eye and was now suddenly surprised of Kiba's sudden outburst.

"Kiba-kun, don't be so harsh on him. He's only a puppy after all."

"It's because he's a puppy that he needs to be told. He can't run around and make a mess all the time. I can't do that anymore... Not much anyway but that's not the point. The point is, I have already spoiled him too much by letting him do whatever he wants which has caused him to disobey me as you can see right now. I'm not much to admit that. He thinks everything is a game because that's all he does – _play_. Do you know how many booth owners, women, kids and I could go on, he had caused trouble for these last few weeks because of his so called 'games'?"

Hinata shook her head.

"Too many that I have lost track of and every time I'm the one to blame. All this time, I have been too soft towards him." All the yelling had made Kiba's voice hoarse. "Why aren't you angry at Akamaru? First of all, he pushed you on purpose. Secondly, he ruined your cake for Naruto and thirdly your ankle is injured. You shouldn't encourage him to do more of these things. You should instead be mad. Really, really mad! Like me!"

"I was a _bit_ mad…but I'm not anymore..." She whispered the last part of her sentence and looked down on the ground.

"That's just 'cause you're too nice, Hinata! Akamaru, you can't act like this anymore. Apologize to Hinata like you mean it. If not, I'm… I'm…" Kiba stopped and hesitated to say the next words but he did it anyway. "I'm better off without _you!_" Kiba turned his back on Akamaru and pointed his hand away indicating that Akamaru should leave this instance.

Akamaru looked confused. He neared Kiba and made small sad puppy screech but Kiba stood firm. He did not turn the other way around to face the little fellow. Akamaru then ran away from the place without looking back.

"Kiba-kun?"

"What? If he's going to act like that, then he is not my dog. I'm sick and tired of it. Just to use Shikamaru's choice of words; I do not need a _troublesome_ dog."

Hinata looked down at the ground while speaking to him with a sad voice. "I hope you don't find me nosey for saying this, but as you said it yourself. You have been soft towards him, so how should he know that he was causing problems if you have never taught him what's right and what's wrong." Kiba stopped talking afterwards. "We both know who the bad guy is here."

With that being said there was still no sound coming from Kiba. "Just think, it will soon get dark and where could he possible go? He has no other friends and family other than you guys. He's probably all alone, maybe even hungry… Oh no Kiba-kun, he might be in danger already. After all he's only a puppy." She scared herself. I better go look for him!" As Hinata tried to get up again, she cried.

"Hinata! Are you crazy? You can't go anywhere in your condition. Besides, let him be. I don't need him if he does not obey me."

"But… but…"

Before Hinata could finish her sentence, Kiba flung her arm round his shoulder. He took all her stuff on the ground that weren't broken and saw her home. During the walk to the Hyūga household none of them spoke a single word about Akamaru. However as they reached the front gate of Hyūga resident Hinata broke the silence, "Hope Akamaru is somewhere safe tonight"

When Kiba came home, the first he did was to go up to his room and lay on the bed.

"Ahhh… there is nothing better than your own bed. Am I right, Akamaru?" After no respond, he realized that Akamaru was no longer with him. "That's right… He's gone… From now on I don't have to think about what kind of troubles he will make for me," Kiba said out loud to convince himself that what he did was the right thing. "I'm FREE!… I'm free… I'm…" Nevertheless, he stopped his cheers abruptly when his eyes came across some of Akamaru's favorite toys, which he used to entertain him with, lying around on the floor.

_Why am I starting to feel like it's my entire fault? He deserved the yelling. He wouldn't listen… Is Hinata maybe right? Am I really the bad guy here?... _

It didn't take long before he found the answer.

_Arh… It's me and my stupid, stupid short-temper fault… Akamaru is probably all alone, hungry and maybe in danger like Hinata mentioned…_

His thought got interrupted by the sudden storm that appeared right in front of his window. Kiba looked outside and found the sky getting darker. The sound of the rain drops landing on the pane sounded like it could break the glass anytime soon. With no hesitation at all, Kiba decided to look for his dog in the rain.

As Kiba hurried down the stairs and reached the front door, he was stopped by his mother who asked him where he was about to go. Quickly, he lied to her saying that he was going to pick Akamaru from Hinata's and off he went through the door with no rainwear.

_Please be okay, buddy!_

(- - -)

Drops of salt water dripped from Kiba's chin into the puddle making water circles on his reflection. As he saw his own reflection clearly again, Kiba quickly turned his head, away from the sight of his face. Every time Kiba thought of what happened that afternoon, he regretted it so badly. He could not believe he committed such an idiotic action towards Akamaru. If only he could go back in time and do it all differently, talk to Akamaru in a more calm and suitable way. Nevertheless he knew that that was not going to happen. There was no take two in real life and Kiba understood that but he could not stop having the _if-only_-thought in his mind.

Out of the blue a lightning struck down and hit a tree some miles away. The sound of thunder growled through the entire forest which snapped Kiba out from his trance. His eyes opened widely at once. Kiba had never experienced a thunderstorm this bad before and furthermore, he had never been out when it was getting dark. After a second Kiba shivered in fear but he tried his best to get rid of it.

_If can I send my dog away in this weather without giving him a choice, I'm not allowed to get scared. Besides I have to be strong for his sake when I find him..._

But the odds of finding Akamaru being hit by a lightning and dead were great. Just the thought of that likelihood made Kiba feel ill at ease. What's more, many horrible thoughts and visions of Akamaru bleeding to death somewhere in the forest started popping up in his head. Slowly came the feeling of vomiting in his throat.

The first lightning and thunder were soon succeeded by many more, however, this time near the area where Kiba was. It scared the boy out of his wits so hurriedly he crawled to the nearest tree to find protection. As he was up against the tree he huddled while supporting his head on his knees with his eyes squeezed. Even with his eyes closed, tears ran down from them. The whole thing seemed so chaotic and it was eating Kiba alive. It was simply too difficult for him to handle all these things alone. Hope was about to lose its place in his heart and to fill out the void was only despair. At this very moment Kiba could really need a special someone next to him to comfort him.

"Akamaru, please come back... come back... _COME BACK!_"

Just then another lightning struck down some distance away and a cry from a familiar animal echoed through the forest.

"Akamaru?" Kiba reacted immediately to the sound. He wiped the tears away with his soaked sleeve and got up on his feet again. "_AKAMARU, IS THAT YOU?_"

There was no respond to Kiba's calling, but his face lightened up anyway. An indescribable happy emotion flowed through his entire body. Even though he hadn't found Akamaru yet, he could not be happier since the Gods also helped him by giving him a sign of an animal cry indicating that Akamaru might still be in the forest, alive. It was like the cry gave Kiba some sort of a new energy - a new hope. Running like he had never run before, Kiba was determined to find Akamaru. The headwind got stronger causing him to run slower and shiver tremendously. Nevertheless, he endured it for the sake of his friend.

"Akamaru? Akamaru?"

Lacking of attention led to a burning tree fell right in front of Kiba's feet with massive power. If he had run any further he would have ended up being roasted pork.  
As he looked around to get an orientation of where he was, the flames from the almost put out fire lighted up a figure not so far from spotted it lying up against a tree, unconscious in the dark. He approached it with caution. As he was some steps away from the figure, Kiba no longer had any doubts. He recognized the special brown ears which were lying lifelessly on the ground. Instantly Kiba rushed to the figure.

"Akamaru! I have finally found you." as he spoke to Akamaru ecstatically, the puppy opened its eyes and made a little growl while smiling. Kiba smiled back crying of joy. But few seconds later Akamaru's eyes closed slowly and Kiba was unable to awake him. "Akamaru? Akamaru? _AKAMARU?_"

To give Akamaru warmth right away, he put him under his sweatshirt feverishly and held him up against his body. Kiba felt his puppy trembling a lot. Having him under his sweatshirt did not help that much because he was soaked too. However, that was the only solution he could come up with in a short space of time. The situation Akamaru was in was very critical. He could barely feel Akamaru's breathing at all now. His pulse had almost disappeared. The only way to save him was to bring him back to his sister as fast as possible. However, as he was about to run back home, a tremendous power followed by a strong white light threw Kiba and Akamaru backwards into the air. Protecting Akamaru from getting anymore pain, he hit the back of his head on something hard and was knocked out instantly.

(- - -)

"Where… Where am I?" Kiba woke up slowly feeling something wet on his face. He couldn't remember where he was but the second he felt something wet again – this time licking him, his eyes opened widely. Right on his laps was Akamaru with his front paws leaning up against Kiba's chest. Akamaru barked when he caught Kiba's eyes which surprised him causing him to roll down from his bed.

"Ah my head!"

Lying on the floor with Akamaru next to him, he slowly remembered what had happened. Nonetheless, he did not comprehend how he ended up in his bed. The last thing Kiba remembered from last night was that he felt something painful in the back of his head.

A knock came from the door and person who stepped inside was Hana. "Oh, good. You are both awake."

Akamaru went with small steps to Hana, "Good boy." Hana said to Akamaru. He then returned to Kiba with a brown bag in his mouth. The bag contained Kiba's medicine.

"How did I end up in my own room?" Kiba asked hazy.

"Since you didn't come back after a long time, mom went to get you and Akamaru at the ___Hyūga_. There Hinata told her everything between you and Akamaru. It was then we realized what you were doing. So we went immediately after you. We found you together with Akamaru both unconscious but you were bleeding on the other hand. You hit a tree pretty bad. Thank God you were not hit by the lightning some feet away from you. If we haven't found you in time I shudder to think what might have happened to you or Akamaru. Your body heat was actually the thing that kept Akamaru alive."

"That may be true, but I was also the one who got him in that mess. I almost killed my own dog."

"Yeah, Mother is not keen about that either or about the lie. I have tried to calm her down to the best of my ability but she's still very mad so... But, she's of course glad to know that you are alright, Akamaru too." Kiba stared blankly at Akamaru who now went to get some water in a bowl. "I will let you rest for a bit more. If you need anything, just call." The door was ajar and once again Kiba and Akamaru were alone. Akamaru sat well-behaved on Kiba's right side and wiggled his little tail.

They made a transient eye contact with each other. The dog barked ecstatically at Kiba but there was no answer from him. It was not like Kiba wasn't super happy to see Akamaru back on his feet again, because he was, but the problem was – He did not know how to act around him anymore.

_Why is he still so good to me?_

He couldn't just pretend like nothing had happened between them, or could he? It wouldn't be fair to Akamaru. Kiba wanted to apologize but he did not know how to spit it out. Sorry was not going to cut it because he deserved more than that. Furthermore, shame was all he felt whenever he looked directly into those narrowed puppy eyes.

_It would be easier if he was angry at me..._

After about a minute or two, there was still no sound in the room except for Akamaru's breathing with his tongue out. Kiba opened his mouth but fail to say anything. Turning his head to look outside the window, he hoped to find courage.

However, as Akamaru saw Kiba turning his head away from him, his cheerful facial expression turned drastically. The tail stopped wiggling. Akamaru made instead a screech to capture Kiba's attention but little did it work.

By the time Kiba turned his head back and took a deep breath, Akamaru was already gone. Kiba searched everywhere in the bedroom but he was simply not there. It suddenly hit him when he caught sight of the opened door. To clarify it he sniffed after Akamaru's scent and he was right. Akamaru had run off - again.

_Why did you leave the door open anyway, sis?_

Kiba hurried down the stairs and out to the front yard. Unfortunately, as he kept running he could no longer see where he was exactly going. Everything seemed blurred. To make it worse a pain from the back of Kiba's head caused him to stop short. Kiba was no longer able to go after Akamaru in the condition he was in. It was all over – for them both. Realizing that, tears slowly ran down his red fang marks on his face.

"Come back, Akamaru. I'm sorry. I... I truly am sorry, for what I said yesterday." Kiba yelled out loud on the yard hoping Akamaru could hear it. "I'm sorry for letting you down. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You were just being yourself. And that's my fault for not bringing you up properly and when I finally try my best, I begin shouting at you. Moreover I haven't lived up to what I have promised you when we first met." He paused and took a deep breath," I promised you that I will take care of you. But obviously, I have not done an amazing job. Instead I have deserted you in the most crucial way a man could do to a friend, _his best friend. _I know I don't have the right to ask for your forgiveness but...Please come back, I really need you more than you need me." He wiped the tears away but it continued streaming down, "I miss you, pal..."

As Kiba squatted on the lawn resignedly, he tried to imagine a life without Akamaru. He couldn't. Kiba could absolutely not imagine a life without his faithful dog because Akamaru had changed his life radically in a positive way. They bounded like brothers very quickly and did almost everything together; eat, bath and sleep. Whatever Kiba did, Akamaru was always there to back him up and vice versa. Like the time they did a prank on Naruto because he offended Akamaru by saying he can't ever be a ninken given his size. As a punishment they told Naruto he could get a free meal for a year at Ichiraku's if he went inside a creepy derelict house to get the gift certificate. Here Kiba and Akamaru pretended to be ghost and scared the wits out of him.  
Sure, there were bad times too but those are nothing compared to the wonderful moments they had had with each other. Sadly, Kiba had to face the fact that it will never be like that. Everything was changing, not for the better and it's all because of him and his bad temper.

Few seconds later, Kiba felt someone poking him in the back. Wiping the tears again he turned slowly to see who it was. When he faced the one who poked him, he felt like he was in another dimension. Right in front of Kiba was Akamaru with a stick in his mouth hoping that a game of fetch would cheer Kiba up. Kiba realized as he saw the stick in Akamaru's mouth that it was not any stick, it was Akamaru's favorite stick.

"I thought you were gone for good. Have you been here the whole time, listening what I have said?" Kiba asked. Akamaru barked for yes, "Does that mean you forgive me?" Kiba hoped deeply that the answer was yes.

"Wuff!" Akamaru then jumped at Kiba and wrestled causing Kiba to fall backwards with joy. Within a second all the tears was licked away. The pain from the back of his head started to come again but Kiba did almost not feel it because the feeling of happiness took care of it. He held Akamaru like he did the first time they met and smiled.

"You are the best dog a friend can get." Without seeing it coming, Akamaru began peeing on Kiba just for fun, "Okay, I deserve that at least."

Akamaru barked loud to agree with Kiba. They both laughed ecstatically at each other.

"Akamaru, to make it up to you, from now on I will be a better caretaker, a better companion and most important of all – a better friend to you. I will never let anything harm you anymore. As of today, we will always be together, no matter what happens through thick and thin. That's a promise I tend to keep forever!"

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_**Author's Note**_

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Hey again (^v^)

Once again, I know it has been a very long time since I last posted a new one-shot here and I'm deeply sorry about that. I have a lot of excuses, however, I will not bother you with them because… excuses are lame, well in my case they are^^ I just hope you can forgive me for my long absent and will continue to read my one-shots in the future.  
I got to be honest with you this one-shot with Kiba is not one of my favorites. It didn't turn out as I wanted it to be. So if you think it's bad or lacks something don't hesitate to tell me that because I really want to improve it like I have done to my two previous one-shots. Your reviews and constructive criticism are as always very important to me, not just to make me VERY happy but also make my story even better. So please write a review to me...(^v^)

Now I want to thank you guys who have read my two one-shots about Gaara and Shikamaru. It means a LOT to me. This collection of one-shots would be nothing without you guys so thank you so much. Thank you, THANK you :D

Secondly I would like to thank my Beta-reader _Weixuan18_ and _Chidori no Tenshi _for doing such great job with correcting my errors.  
I would also like to thank my friend _Moonshae_ for helping me solve some problems with this one-shot. If you like my Naruto one-shots you will definitely like her stories then since she's a better writer than me. I'm not joking. She really is :D

To end my long author's note I hope you enjoyed this one about Kiba even though it may not be as good as the other (in my opinion). The next one-shot will focus on Lee, I think. Hope to hear from you again when I have posted another one-shot.

Yours sincerely _90MLLu_


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